Date:21/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/21/stories/2006032102540400.htm

Back COAI goes to tribunal against TRAI show-cause

Our Bureau

New Delhi , March 20

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has filed an appeal with the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging the show-cause notice issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for poor quality of service. The move comes even as the TRAI chairman, Mr Pradip Baijal, said that the notice was sent because the operators were not doing enough to safeguard the interest of consumers.

Cellular operators, however, said that TRAI was blaming the wrong party because the congestion was due to lack of proper interconnection with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. "TRAI should issue show-cause to BSNL, which is not giving us adequate interconnection instead of asking the private operators to improve the quality of services. We cannot improve the quality if there is no interconnection," said an operator.

Mr Baijal said TRAI could not act against BSNL because the state-owned company had already filed an appeal against a TRAI order asking it to give interconnection within 90 days. "But that does not mean that the operators can wait for a decision of the court. If they were not getting interconnection, then they should have gone to TDSAT earlier," Mr Baijal said.

Market-watchers said that the COAI move to go TDSAT against the TRAI may actually work in favour of the telecom regulator because it is already fighting a legal battle with TDSAT in the Supreme Court.